THE AWARENESS OF NLPSC COMMUNITY TOWARDS A FEDERAL REPUBLIC

Transcription

1 Available online at: Vol. 8 Issue 12, December THE AWARENESS OF NLPSC COMMUNITY TOWARDS A FEDERAL REPUBLIC Dr. Andres T. Malinnag, Jr. Associate Professor V College of Arts and Sciences NORTH LUZON PHILIPPINES STATE COLLEGE City of Candon 2710 Ilocos Sur, Philippines Abstract Shifting towards a federal republic is difficult but necessary in order to attained peace, retain higher percentage in income from natural resources, taxes and tariffs. Delivery of government services would be easier and faster. This study was conducted to look into the awareness of the North Luzon Philippines State College (NLPSC) community towards a federal republic; the respondents were the 4 th year students from the different degree programs including the faculty and staff of the college as a community. The descriptive method of research was actually used in the conduct of this study. The distribution and retrieval of the questionnaires to the various groups of respondents during the first quarter of 2017 was on normal condition. Based from the findings and conclusions the following were recommended: The availability of print media like newspapers at home and even in school was remarkably noted; thereby, it is highly recommended to continue the availability of print media supplies at the library and even at home for use; The availability of TV sets at home was also remarkably noted; thereby, it is highly recommended to continue the use of television for fresh news and current public affairs. However, since it was exposed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte that Magandang Gabi Bayan Channel of ABS- CBN was biased; then it is highly recommended that other TV news program be utilized; The faculty and staff-respondents should add more time watching news and current public affairs of the government in order to be updated and more aware. A symposium relative to the basic concept including mechanics towards federalism be organized in the college, to be initiated by POLSCI faculty members for the college (students, faculty and staff); For extension program purposes and in support to the government thrust towards federalism: Organized a program and utilized the topics relative to FEDERALISM under the CAS department and serve it to different barangays in coordination with DILG office; submit operational plan. Keywords: NLPSC, FEDERALISM, FEDERAL REPUBLIC Introduction The North Luzon Philippines State College (NLPSC) was a former campus or branch of the University of Northern Philippines but it was separated from the main campus by virtue of R.A in This time NLPSC serves as a venue of this study considering that the faculty researcher is a senior faculty teaching Political Science for 21 years from the University of Northern Philippines; and more than seven years from NLPSC for a total 28 years already. Shifting to a federal republic is poverty alleviation in general. Higher percentage of income from natural resources, taxes and tariffs will be retained in each state. Also autonomy in the administration of governance will be fully attained through a federalism. 1

2 The encountered problems in the unitary form of government are evident to some political experts and that is the reason why federalism was declared as one of the political agenda of President Rodrigo R. Duterte for a change; this political system may address the problems, issues and needs of the Filipino people in general for a speedy self-governance and development. Ever since, the Philippines is under the unitary-presidential form of government. To remember, the Philippines has more than 7,100 islands with three (3) main lands namely: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. It has a diversity of language, culture and traditions. Also, the Philippines is known to be rich in natural resources that is scattered around the country. All of these natural resources could be maximized to be develop under the federal form of government. At the same time we need to understand that there are many problems and challenges in each of the geographical territories around the country like language, cultural beliefs and traditions. In Mindanao, the southern group of islands in the Philippines more particularly to our Muslim brothers; the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) under Nur Missuari and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) under the leadership of Murad are fighting for nationalism of their own. They wanted and seeking another form of governance so that they will have a free hand to govern their people of which it is believed would address their common interest, culture and beliefs. They are not terrorist. The concept of unitary and federalism form of government Basically, the unitary form of government is the present government system of the Philippines since the beginning of the independence in It is unitary in the sense that the Philippines is not divided into several states. The governance and authority of the president is highly centralized in nature. The concept of federalism is about the distribution of political power in a state. It means that there are two or more created recognize states within a state. For example: Malaysia is a federation of 13 states operating within a constitutional monarchy under the Westminster parliamentary system and is categorized as a representative democracy. The federal government of Malaysia adheres to and is created by the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, the supreme law of the land ( The United States of America is also another example of a Federal State. How does a unitary form looks like compared with federalism? Figure 1 2

3 The Unitary Form and Federalized Concept Model So, basically we can see from the left s half side of Figure 1 how a unitary form exist (the present political structure in the Philippines); it is a one single state. The other side is just a picture of a theory towards a federal republic. It could be divided using the major three islands in the Philippines or clustering maybe the existing political region in the country to attain a federal republic. State Governance and Concept of Autonomy Figure 2 Figure 2, the state governance under the federal form of government has its own autonomy; the state may have their own state laws, tourism program and industry, may have their own foreign economic policies, education and culture etc. Thus, in every state it will become more favorable for them to generate income; and that will be dependent on their leadership. The past administration political thrust During the time of former President Benigno C. Aquino in his last quarter in the office, the Bangsa Basic Law (BBL) was drafted and studied in the congress but it was not yet approved for implementation. However, on recent news written by Salaveria (2017) in her article at the Philippine Daily Inquirer entitled KOKO HAS MISGIVINGS ON NEW BBL said Pimentel did not specify the questioned provisions that were retained in the latest BBL version. But among the sections in the draft BBL that lawmakers had objected to during the previous administration were the ones that created the Bansamoro s own audit body as well as its own civil service and electoral offices. In addition with the same news article, the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) Version: He also said Malacanang would study the BTC version of the bill. According to him, the BTC s BBL may not necessarily be the version that the executive branch would back. The President earlier vowed to husband the BBL through Congress. He also had promised to come up with a constitutionally consistent legal instrument that will lay the foundation for establishing real and lasting peace in Mindanao. The present administration political thrust When President Rodrigo R. Duterte won via landslide, he promised and encourage the congress to expedite the passing of the BBL for approval. Also, the president is pushing hard the possibility of shifting the unitary form of government to federal form of government. To wit: Duterte wants to overhaul the unitary-presidential system and shift to a federal parliamentary system through a constitutional convention (CON-CON). He 3

4 desires the holding of a plebiscite and preparing the future federal state to effect power sharing resources-sharing, respect-for-all and development-for all as key to reforming the whole bureaucracy to effect good governance. Reforms under the new system are said to include: increasing salaries of government workers; fighting graft and corruption unleashing the full potentials of all regions and ethnic groups for social, economic and cultural growth. Furthermore, constitutional amendments shall lift restrictive economic provisions in the constitutions, grant more foreign ownership of property and certain industry. The centerpiece of Duterte s campaign platform was suppressing the three socalled evils: crime illegal drugs and corruption, which he believes are undermining security across all sectors and hampering the growth of domestic economy. He pledge to instill discipline with an iron fist for everyone to adhere the rule of law and strengthen the country s justice system. To re-establish law and order, he plans to launch a focused, time bound campaign against criminals, drug lords and corrupt government officials through the joint efforts of the PNP and the AFP. He also plans to carry out: improvement of government provision of social services which include education, health, housing, mass transportation with special attention to the elderly, women, children, youth indigenous peoples and other marginalized sectors; provision of assistance to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and their families; and adaptation to climate change through reducing risk, preparing for natural disasters and adopting 911 nationwide ( As a researcher and a professor in political science it is proper to be aware on the development of federalism in the congress and in the senate; thus, the timing is significant to conduct this study entitled THE AWARENESS OF NLPSC COMMUNITY TOWARDS A FEDERAL REPUBLIC. The result will become a springboard for information drive in the college, then perhaps we can do the same in other entities in the community to help and support the thrust of the government. Methods and Materials The research methodology is composed of the following: research design, research instrument, research procedure, population and sample and the statistical treatment of the data. The research design is a descriptive type method of research where a questionnaire was formulated and used as a main tool to gather data needed. The data gathering instrument was formulated by the researcher himself. There were two sets of questionnaire, one for the student-respondents and another set for the faculty and staff respondent. Each questionnaire has two components namely: the profile of the respondents and the twenty (20) items sets of variables for exposing the level of awareness. The instruments were content validated last January 12, 2017 by the following experts: Atty. Windel A. Basabas, Atty. Yaye D. Lares, Atty Robert B. Tudayan and including Atty. Edsel C. Abella of which it yielded to a mean of 4.75 or Very Much Acceptable. It means the instrument s variables for establishing the profile of the respondents reflects what is expected and needed in the study; he also used simple terms and had enough items to expose the respondents level of awareness towards federalism. The researcher prepared a proposal and presented it to the Research Office for in-house review which was conducted last December 19, 2016; after some revisions the operational plan was submitted and approved last January On February 28, 2017 a communication letter was prepared by the researcher seeking approval for the floating and retrieval of the 4

5 questionnaires. Consistent with the approved Operational Plan (OP), the faculty-researcher deployed his students enrolled in RS 200 that help him in the floating and retrieval of questionnaire. On March 01, 2017 the data gathering started and ended after a month. The encoding of the raw data started last April 01, 2017 and ended after a month. The researcher was provided with SPSS IBM application with the assistance of Dr. Severino G. Alviento for him to use in the computation of data. However, Mr. Rico G. Gagto helped also in the proper presentation of tables and checked also the output along statistical matters as he is the official college wide statistician in research at that time. Results and Discussion Based from the data presented the following findings and conclusions are drawn: A. Along Profile of the student-respondents in terms of the following: Age, Sex, Number of newspapers read at home, Number of news-papers read at school, Favorite tv news watch listened to at home. Table 1. The Frequency And Percentage Distribution Of The Student-Respondents With The Selected Variables 1. Age f % MS Total Sex f % Male Female MS Total Number of News Paper read at home f % MS Total Number of News Paper read at School f % MS Total TV-news Program Watched at home f % TV Patrol oras Aksyon PBO CNN MSys Total

6 Majority of the 4 th year level student-respondents are at the age of ; it is also revealed that few of our respondents were somewhat delayed in college as reflected with their age level of 21-26; majority are female respondents; are print media updated with news and current affairs at home and at school; and our student respondents are viewing or watching TV News Program of which it would make them aware of the political issue like FEDERALISM. B. Along the profile of the regular-faculty and regular employee- respondents in terms of the following: Office assignment (College Assignment), Years in service, Sex, newspaper read at home, News paper read at school, Favorite tv news watch listened to at home. Table 2 The frequency and percentage distribution of regular-faculty and regular employeerespondents with the selected variables 1.College/Department Assignment f % College of Arts and Sciences (B.A., CJE, BSCS and BSM) BUS EDUC CTE *HR Office *AUX *Finance *Research Office Missing system Total Number of Years in Service F % 1-5 Years Years Years Years Years Years Missing Sys Total Sex f % Male Female Total Number of Newspapers Read at Home f % Missing Sys Total Number of Newspapers Read at School f %

7 Missing Sys Total Favorite tv news watched to at home F % TV Patrol Oras CNN TV Aksyon Missing Sys Total Legend: * Staff (regular employee) The table revealed that the College of Arts and Sciences faculty represented the highest number among the faculty respondents; years in service also represented the highest number; majority are female; majority has one or three number of newspapers read at home and at school; and most of the respondents are watching tv news program in 24 Oras. C. Along the level of awareness of the two group of respondents towards the proposed federalism Table 3. The Level of Awareness Of The Two Group Of Respondents Towards The Proposed Federalism Awareness of the Faculty and Staff of NLPSC Towards STUDENT- FACULTY Federalism along the following considerations: RESPONDENTS STAFF REPONDENTS 1. As to shifting towards federalism: the proposed agenda of the president in shifting the presidential unitary form of government towards a federal form of government. 2. As to 1987 Constitution: this would mean amending the 1987 Constitution to make it fitted for a federal form of government (Charter Change or Chacha). 3. As to territorial state: that if FEDERALISM will be approved, then there will be so called territorial states; Example: State of Luzon, State of Visayas and State of Mindanao. 4. As to Executive Branch under Unitary Form (Present): the executive branch is too powerful; headed by president of the republic and the government is centralized. 5. Unitary Form to Federal form of government: the president will remain the president with three or several state governors (Example: if in case there will be State of Luzon, State of Visayas and State of Mindanao). D R D L D R D L 4.43 VMA 3.95 VA 4.03 VA 3.91 VA 4.33 VMA 3.50 VA 4.30 VMA 3.41 VA 4.11 VA 3.27 A 6. That there will be a prime minister VA 3.14 A 7. That the real executive power is vested on the Prime Minister VA 3.41 VA 8. As to Legislative System: that the house of representatives and the senate will remain as is if the government will not shift to parliamentary form of governance VA 3.50 VA 9. As to the Judicial System : that there will possibly be a re-structuring of the Judicial Branch considering that there will be state laws and federal laws of the land. 10. That civil laws, corporate laws, criminal laws and other laws maybe varied depending on the state. 11. That there will possibly be a death penalty in one state but no such law in another state VA 3.18 A 4.24 VMA 3.36 A 4.30 VMA 3.23 A & 7

8 12. In the federal state structure of the government: that there will be a President and at the same time could be the Prime Minister. 13. That there will possibly be a President and another person will be a Prime Minister of which it will be emanating from the cabinet members. 14. Under each state of the legislative branch: that in the legislative body of each state there will be state senators and members of the House of Representatives VMA 3.27 A 3.98 A 3.27 A 4.00 VA 3.23 A 15. Under the local government: that in each state it shall possibly be 4.23 VMA 3.41 VA headed by a state governor; provincial governors, mayors for cities and municipalities. 16. As to aspects of state policies and laws relevant to economic 4.23 VMA 3.19 A developments: that state policies and laws relevant to economic development may be beneficial of their own state which is definitely different to other states in the federal form of government. 17. That policies on taxes and tarrifs may be lower or higher depending on 4.03 VA 3.45 VA the state. 18. That income per state might be different due to the environment and 4.24 VMA 3.64 VA natural resources. 19. That maybe 70 percent of the income of the state might be retained in 4.07 VA 3.23 A each state for their own development and 30 percent might be given to the federal government. 20. That there will possibly be lots of changes in the coming years as we go 4.29 VMA 3.59 VA with the Federal Form of Government. Over-all 4.00 VA 3.40 A Legend: Very Much Aware Very Aware Aware Table 3 revealed the level of awareness of the two group of respondents in terms of the following: 1. As to shifting towards federalism: the student respondents has a mean of 4.43 or leveled to as very much aware while the faculty and staff has a mean of 3.95 or leveled to as very aware to the proposed agenda of the president in shifting the presidential unitary form of government towards a federal form of government. 2. As to 1987 Constitution: the sdent respondents has a mean of 4.03 or leveled to as very aware while the faculty and staff has a mean of 3.91 or leveled to as very aware also that this would mean amending the 1987 Constitution to make it fitted for a federal form of government (Charter Change or Chacha ). 3. As to territorial state: the student respondents has a mean of 4.33 or leveled to as very much aware while the faculty and staff has a mean of 3.50 or leveled to as very aware if FEDERALISM will be approved, and are aware that there will be basically called territorial states? Example: State of Luzon, State of Visayas and State of Mindanao. 4. As to Executive Branch under Unitary Form (Present): the student respondents has a mean of 4.30 or leveled to as very much aware while the faculty and staff has a mean of 3.41 or leveled to as very aware that the executive branch is too powerful; headed by president of the republic and the government is centralized. 5. Unitary Form to Federal form of government: the student respondents has a mean of 4.11 or leveled to as very aware while the faculty and staff has a mean of 3.27 or leveled to as aware that the president will remain the president with three or several state governors (Example: if in case there will be State of Luzon, State of Visayas and State of Mindanao). 8

9 6. However, the student respondents has a mean of 4.11 or leveled to as very aware while the faculty and staff has a mean of 3.14 or leveled to as aware if the government will shift to parliamentary form then there will be a prime minister. 7. The student respondents has a mean of 4.12 or leveled to as very aware while the faculty and staff has a mean of 3.14 or leveled to as aware that the real executive power is vested on the Prime Minister if that happens. 8. As to Legislative System: the student respondents has a mean of 4.15 or leveled to as very aware while the faculty and staff has a mean of 3.50 or leveled to as very aware that if the government will not shift to parliamentary form of governance; then the house of representatives and senate will remain as is. 9. As to the Judicial System : the student respondents has a mean of 4.02 or leveled to as very aware while the faculty and staff has a mean of 3.18 or leveled to as aware that there will possibly be a re-structuring of the Judicial Branch considering that there will be state laws and federal laws of the land. 10. The student respondents has a mean of 4.24 or leveled to as very much aware while the faculty and staff has a mean of 3.36 or leveled to as aware that civil laws, corporate laws, criminal laws and other laws maybe varied depending on the state. 11. The student respondents has a mean of 4.30 or leveled to as very much aware while the faculty and staff has a mean of 3.23 or leveled to as aware that there will possibly be a death penalty in one state but no such law in another state. 12. In the federal state structure of the government: The student respondents has a mean of 4.90 or leveled to as very much aware while the faculty and staff has a mean of 3.27 or leveled to as aware that there will be a President and at the same time and could be the Prime Minister. 13. The student respondents has a mean of 3.98 or leveled to as aware while the faculty and staff has a mean of 3.27 or leveled to as aware that there will possibly be a President and another person will be a Prime Minister that will be emanating from the cabinet members. 14. Under each state of the legislative branch: The student respondents has a mean of 4.00 or leveled to as very aware while the faculty and staff has a mean of 3.23 or leveled to as aware that in the legislative body of each state there will be state senators and members of the house of representatives. 15. Under the local government: The student respondents has a mean of 4.23 or leveled to very much aware while the faculty and staff has a mean of 3.41 or leveled to as aware that in each state it shall possibly be headed by a state governor; provincial governors, mayors for cities and municipalities. 16. As to aspects of state policies and laws relevant to economic developments: The student respondents has a mean of 4.23 or leveled to as very much aware while the faculty and staff has a mean of 3.19 or leveled to as aware that state policies and laws relevant to economic development may be beneficial of their own state which is definitely different to other states in the federal form of government. 17. The student respondents has a mean of 4.03 or leveled to as very much aware while the faculty and staff has a mean of 3.64 or leveled to as very aware that policies on taxes and tarrifs may be lower or higher depending on the state. 18. The student respondents has a mean of 4.24 or leveled to as very much aware while the faculty and staff has a mean of 3.45 or leveled to as very aware that income per state might be different due to the environment and natural resources. 9

10 19. The student respondents has a mean of 4.07 or leveled to as very aware while the faculty and staff has a mean of 3.23 or leveled to as aware that maybe 70 percent of the income of the state might be retained in each state for their own development and 30 percent might be given to the federal government. 20. The student respondents has a mean of 4.29 or leveled to as very much aware while the faculty and staff has a mean of 3.59 or leveled to as very aware that there will possibly be lots of changes in the coming years as we go with the Federal Form of Government. 21. As an overall, the student respondents has a mean of 4.0 or leveled to as very aware while the faculty and staff has a mean of 3.40 or leveled to as aware to the proposed federalism. This shows that the faculty and staff-respondents has probably less time in reading newspapers and even in watching tv news program. It further implies that maybe their subject loading and other assignments affects also their awareness on public and current affairs of the government. D. Along significant relationship of the profile of the two (2) groups of respondents towards the level of awareness to the proposed federalism of the country. The profile of the student-respondents does not have any significant relationship at all when correlated to the level of awareness to the proposed federalism of the country as shown in the next table. Table 4.1 Along Significant Relationship Of The Profile Of The Student-Respondents Towards The Level Of Awareness To The Proposed Federalism Of The Country. Profile of the Studentrespondents Level Of Awareness To The Proposed Federalism (rxy) Course Age.044 Sex Newspaper read at home Newspaper read at school.024 Favorite TV Program.029 *.Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level **.Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level The table shows that the profile of the student-respondents does not have any significant relationship at all when correlated to the level of awareness to the proposed federalism of the country. Table 4.2 Along Significant Relationship of The Profile Of The Faculty and Staff Respondents Towards The Level Of Awareness To The Proposed Federalism Of The Country. Profile of the faculty & staff Level Of Awareness To The Proposed respondents Federalism (rxy) Office assignment/ department Number of years in service Sex -.628** Newspaper read at home.465* Newspaper read at school Favorite TV News Program *.Correlation is significant at 0.05 level **.Correlation is significant at 0.01 level 10

11 The profile of the faculty and staff-respondents have significant relationship with sex and newspaper read at home when correlated to the level of awareness to the proposed federalism of the country; However, there is no relationship of the following: the office assignment, number of years in service, newspaper read at school and favorite TV news program with the level of awareness to the proposed federalism of the country. E. Along significant difference in between the level of awareness of the two groups of respondents towards the proposed federalism of the country. Table 5. The significant difference between the levels of awareness of the two groups of respondents towards the proposed federalism Two group of respondents 4 th Year Students Faculty and Staff Mean t-test value Df Tabular value *Significant at.01 level The table presents the difference of the level of awareness of the two groups of respondents with a mean of 3.40 while a mean of 3.56 for the faculty and staff; the computed value is which is greater than the tabular value of Meaning there is a significant difference between the level of awareness of the two groups of respondents. Based from the findings and conclusions, the following recommendations are drawn for the two groups of respondents: 1. The availability of print media like newspapers at home and even in school was remarkably noted; thereby, it is highly recommended to continue the availability of supplies at the library and even at home for use; 2. The availability of TV sets at home was also remarkably noted; thereby, it is highly recommended to continue the use of television for fresh news and current affairs. However, since it was exposed by PRRD that Magandang Gabi Bayan of Channel 2 of ABS-CBN was biased; then it is highly recommended that other TV news program be utilized; 3. The faculty and staff-respondents should add more time watching current affairs of the government in order to be more aware on what is going on. 4. A symposium relative to the basic concept including mechanics towards federalism be organized in the college, to be initiated by POLSCI faculty members for the college (students, faculty and staff); 5. For extension program purposes and in support to the government thrust towards federalism: 1.1 Organized and utilized topics relative to FEDERALISM under the CAS department and serve it to different barangays in coordination with DILG office more specially when the final proposal from the government will be for information dissemination; 1.2 Submit operational plan. References: A. Newspapers/Journals Diaz, Jess Federal Charter Not Railroaded GMA The Philippine Star-News, ppa.3 December 08,

12 Pedrosa, Carmen N. Switching Governance to a Federalist Structure is Difficult But Necessary The Philippine Star-Opinion, pp. 9, December 08, Salaverria, Leila B. Koko has misgivings on new BBL Philippine Daily Inquirer, September 17, B. Works Cited from Website: About Federalism: Retrieved on: 3/15/17 Federalism.pdf About Federalism: Retrieved on: 3/18/17 About Federalism: Retrieved on: 3/20/17 About Federalism: Retrieved on: 3/20/17 About Federalism: Retrieved on: 3/22/17 About Federalism: Retrieved on: 9/12/18: al_arroyo e n=7 12